Bad Blood Panther
by Zaos the Hedgehog
Summary: A ways into the future, this is where our story begins. The story of the adventures of a rouge panther, and the fox that he fights to protect. Rated M for graphic violence, cursing, and sexual content.
1. Prologue: Resurrection

*Station Square: Mental Institute*

The nurse slowly made her way down the hall, every time she went to this room it gave her the creeps. She was a brown fox in her mid twenties, wearing the causal nurse outfit as she stopped in front of room 209. She shuddered, sometimes she wondered what was going on inside this guys head, as she slowly opened the door and stepped into the room. Sitting in a chair near the window was a panther, not hardly into his early twenties. He was a light tone of black and was wearing the normal patient uniform for the facility. He also had a scar on his left eye, and seemed like a normal guy, until you got to know him at least.

"Its…time for your meds." The nurse said with a slight bit of fear in her voice, the last person to try and give this guy his medication ended up in the hospital for a week. He didn't respond as she set the cup on the table next to him. He slowly reached his hand out and slipped the pills into his mouth. The nurse, wanting to get out of there before anything happened to her, slipped out the door as she saw the pills enter his mouth.

*Panthers POV*

I noticed her departure and quickly spat the pills back out, before dumping them in my pillowcase. What fools, not even checking to see if I swallowed them, looks like roughing up the last one to give me my meds was a good idea after all. Although I did have to stay in that damn straightjacket for nearly two weeks. I chuckled to myself, the pills were meant to keep my Chaos Energy levels to a near non-existent level, meaning I could really only live off it, and not draw any power from it.

I let out a grin, one that would terrify anyone if they happened to see it, as I laughed inwardly. This was all too easy, when my powers come back, it will be a simple task breaking out of this place. I kept myself from laughing out loud however, didn't want to attract any unnecessary attention. I stayed sitting in my chair and waited for my powers to return, they had only kept me here for 3 months, how pitiful.

*Third person POV*

This panther's name was Ace, and he was preparing to escape from the facility that currently held him. "Any minute now…" Ace spoke out loud, at this point not caring if anyone heard him; it was too late for them at this point. At that moment, Ace's Chaos Aura flared to life, and in the blink of an eye he had busted the door off its hinges.

*Ace's POV*

I let out another grin as I looked at the remains of the door, how weak the security was around here. I looked down the hall and say multiple guards point their guns at me, "Freeze! Put your hands up and drop down to the floor!" One of them said in a commanding tone that I didn't care for. "I've got a better idea, bleed." I said before disappearing. By time the guards figured out where I was, they had all been horrible dismembered. Most of the guards were just beheaded, but I decided to cut off all of the limbs of the guard who stupidly decided to speak.

I looked at the blood that now covered the floor, halls, and even me, and I laughed out loud. It had been much too long since I got to smell an actual amount of blood. I slowly made my way down the hall, killing anybody I came across. I was near the exit when I heard someone screaming for help, but my ears picked up something odd. From where the person's voice was coming from, she couldn't see or hear anything that was happening out here. "Fuck." I said out loud, although I can be a VERY horrible person at points, there's just something about someone who asked for help, mainly of course if the person actually deserved help. I ran toward where the voice was screaming and saw something that in my opinion, was much worse then any amount of murder. Apparently two guards, both hedgehogs, had not noticed the massacre down the hall, and thought they would have a little fun with this poor defenseless fox.

And by fun, I mean they were raping her. I was beyond pissed, murdering somebody was one thing, but this, pissed me off. One of the hedgehogs looked at me, but didn't get the chance to say a word before his head hit the floor. The other hedgehog let out a scream of terror, before he too was beheaded. The fox looked up, obviously noticing that they had stopped, and nearly screamed herself as she saw both of the guards, beheaded. She looked up at me, she couldn't be older then 16, she had orange fur, she also had black hair, something not most Mobians have, that hung down a little past her shoulders, and blazing red eyes that had a look of pure fear in them at this moment. Normally I would pride myself in making someone downright terrified of me, but this was one of my exceptions. I reached toward her and she flinched, but all I did was brush some of her hair off her face so it didn't cover it anymore, "Are you alright?" I said in the best nice voice I could do, which sounded like shit.

She looked up at me in surprise, obviously she had expected me to kill her, or worse, continue where the guards had left off. But I had no intention of doing either of those things. "I…I'm…okay…" The girl said, it was obvious that she was NOT okay, but I kept that to myself. I sighed out loud, I already knew that since this area didn't follow my path of destruction, if she stayed here the higher ups would likely blame the deaths of the guards on her, "Its not safe here, you need to come with me." I said in a mix of a sympathetic tone, and a demanding one, I was not taking no for an answer. The girl had some of the fear reappear in her eyes, "Wh-why?" She asked in a frightened tone.

"I don't have time for this…" I spoke, and I spoke the truth. I could hear more guards rushing down the hallways, and I didn't feel like multitasking killing them and protecting this girl at the same time. I created a sphere of Chaos Energy in my hand and tossed it at the wall at the end of this hallway, causing it to explode and reveal an escape route. I picked up the girl bridal style, which she not only squeaked in surprise, but I also saw her blush out of the corner of my eye. I sighed as I walked out the hole in the wall, we were on the first floor at the time, so no big jumps or any of that, but there is a shit ton of cops waiting for us outside. They all repeated what the guard had said, FREEZE! God this guys are fucking retards, if it wasn't for this girl I would kill them all.

"Chaos Control." I said in a calm voice, my ability to use this technique over long distances without a Chaos Emerald came in handy indeed. The last thing I saw before teleporting was all the cops opening fire on me, and missing because I was no longer there.

*Mystic Ruins: Old Workshop: Third Person POV*

The workshop was dusty and deserted, not a single trace of life to be found inside of it, that is, until a bright flash of light illuminated everything and Ace appeared, still carrying the unknown female fox. She looked around in surprise, not knowing where they were, before she broke into a coughing fit from all the dust. "It's not that bad." Ace said before dusting the couch off with his tail and setting her on it. "What are…you going to do…to me?" The fox said, not knowing whether to be thankful, or afraid of the panther. "Nothing." Ace said blandly and he dusted off on of the chairs and sat in it. This left the fox rather confused, "Noth-nothing?" She said, this was obviously not the answer she expected. "Yes, nothing. What, are you expecting something?" Ace replied, slightly annoyed that she thought he had saved her only to repeat the exact thing he'd saved her from. The fox lowered her head, "It's just…that's the only reason the guards ever came into my room…I was only admitted a week ago…" The fox replied sadly, which filled Ace with anger, if there was one thing he absolutely despised in this world, it was sexual assault, or otherwise dubbed as 'rape'.

"Well no, I have no intention of doing such a thing to you, so relax." Ace said before standing and entering another room of the workshop, which seemed more like an old house to the young female fox. She looked around the old dusty workshop before relaxing, then she slowly dosed off to sleep.

*Dream: Fox's POV*

I slowly rose from my bed in the institution, what was I still doing here? Was it…was it all just a dream? I didn't have anymore time to think as the door swung open, and the two hedgehog guards stepped in, perverted grins on their faces. I looked in horror and I tried to back up until on of them grabbed me by the leg, while the other slammed the door shut. I screamed as they ripped off my clothing, grabbing my breasts and squeezing them until they were practically glowing red. One of them then lowered his pants, showing that he was 'ready' and slowing inched toward me. "NO! STAY BACK! STAY-"

*Real world: Workshop*

I woke from my nightmare in a cold sweat, looking up to see the panther from before looking down at me with a sympathetic look. "A nightmare huh?" He asked me calmly. I could do little more then nod my head, the nightmare still replaying itself over in my head. The panther sighed, but it didn't seem like he was annoyed, "I've had plenty of them, though judging by the way you were acting in your sleep, I don't think any of mine were the same as yours." He said calmly before handing me what looked like a cup of orange juice, I sure hope it is, I'm thirsty as hell. I quickly grabbed the cup and chugged it, and yes, it is orange juice, and took a breath after the cup was empty.

*Ace's POV*

I watched the girl quietly, feeling sorry that she had to go through such an experience; she'll never truly get over it. "What's your name?" I asked her, I couldn't just call her fox or girl all the time. She looked at me for a while before responding quietly, "It's…Ginger." She said looking down at the cup. Ginger, that's a nice name, no fucking way I would ever say that out loud, but still. "Why did you save me?" She asked me. I guess I should have expected her to ask, after all this world is full of greedy bastards who expect a reward for a rescue. "I was disgusted by what those two hedgehogs were doing, and I wasn't going to leave you there to suffer the same fate at the hands of some other sick fuck, so I took you away from that place." I said blandly, it is the truth after all, nothing more to the story, and nothing less. Ginger looked surprised at my answer, "But…you don't even know me…" "Don't need to, I don't need to even know a name if I decide to help someone, which keep in mind, doesn't happen often." After I said that I noticed that she was staring at me. I tilted my head and looked myself over, before realizing the problem.

Duh, I'm still covered in blood. "Oh, right. I'll be back." I said going to walk off before she asked me, "Uh, where are you going to wash the blood off? This place doesn't look like it has electricity." She said to me, as if I didn't already know that. "I'm going to a river a little ways into the woods, not too far from here, fairly new as well." I replied, and then I jumped out the window.

*15 minutes later*

I was making my way back to the workshop, my fur still soaked from my little 'dip' into the river. It had washed all of the blood off me, which I was actually slightly sad about, but oh well. I shook some of the water off me before I entered the workshop, completely oblivious of my surroundings. When I opened my eyes, my face flushed red, something that normally doesn't happen to me. Ginger had not only decided to change into some of the clothes she found in the dresser upstairs, but she decided to do it…IN THE FUCKING LIVING ROOM! And at this point she had nothing on but a pair of light blue panties, exposing her b cup breasts…I quickly shielded my eyes, which by the way, was hard to do with the 8 buckets of water I was holding on my arms…did I mention those?

Ginger seemed much more embarrassed then me, and quickly made a quiet apology before taking her clothes and rushing into another room. I heard her leave, and lowered my arm when the coast was clear, that stupid, stupid girl. Who changes in the living room? WHO?! I walked into the bathroom and placed the buckets by the shower, I then covered them with 8 towels that I had cleaned in the river. As I stood up and looked in the mirror my face was still red, god fucking damn it…It's been years since someone has made me blush and it sort of pissed me off that it had happened. I sighed with annoyance as the blush slowly went away, thank god.

I walked back out into the living room as Ginger came back out from the room she was in, she now was wearing a yellow dress then came down below her knees and orange flip flops, SHE was still blushing from what had just happened. "I…I'm…uh…sorry…" She said nervously. I looked at her, with still slightly angry at what had just happened, "Next time, don't change in the living room." I said to her, willing with all my might not to blush again. Ginger nodded and went over to the couch before sitting down, "So…what did, you think?" She asked me. I was slightly confused now, "What are you talking about?" I asked her, wondering what she was getting at.

"I mean…what did you think about…" She motioned her hands over her body, and I got the message. Damn this girl and her ability to make me blush. Wait a minute…"How old…are you?" I asked with slight anger in my voice. "Uh…sixteen?" She replied nervously. I snapped. "THEN WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU ASKING ME THIS QUESTION?!" I yelled, smashing a nearby bookcase into near oblivion, causing Ginger to flinch in fear. "I…I…" tears started flowing from her eyes, and I realized that now, I was scaring her. I took a deep breath before I removed my hand from the remains of the bookcase, "I'm sorry I lost my temper, but there's two things in this world I despise, rape and pedophiles, and considering I'm past twenty, me even responding to your question would be wrong." I replied, slowly calming myself in the process. Ginger looked up, wiping the tears from her eyes, "I'm sorry…its just…I always had to ask my dad that…" Now I was the one who got to ask a question, "What do you mean?" "I don't really want to go into detail…but my dad molested me when I was younger…" Ginger replied, more tears coming out of her eyes.

It took all my willpower not to smash something else in the house, HER OWN FATHER?! WHAT KIND OF SICK BASTARD DOES THAT TO THEIR CHILD?! I walked over to Ginger and put my hand on her shoulder, she looked up at me, "Its okay, as long as you stay with me, you'll be safe." I said in the most sincere voice I have ever used. She looked up at me and said nothing, as she jumped up and…hugged me? This confused me; nobody has ever hugged me…except...

I finally brought my attention back to the girl who was no soaking my fur with her tears. I sighed and patted the back of her head, "Just let it all out…" I said, patently waiting for her to stop crying. That took about 7 minutes, before she finally pulled her head off my now soaked chest, "I'm…I'm okay now…" She said is a small voice. I let go of her, "You should try and get some rest." Hopefully she can actually stay asleep this time…"I'll…try…" And with that Ginger went over to the couch and laid down on it, and within a few seconds, she fell asleep. I sighed, "Finally…now then, time for me to take care of another matter." I said as I jump out the window and speed toward another section of the Mystic Ruins.

*Mystic Graveyard: Third Person POV*

Ace appeared in front of nine gravestones in a flash of light. As soon as he looked down at them, his expression became that of sadness. He was looking at the gravestones of Sonic Hedgehog, Amy Hedgehog, Mile 'Tails' Prower, Cream Prower, Rouge Bat, Espio Chameleon, Charmy Bee, Vector Crocodile, and Shadow T. Hedgehog. His expression went from sad to in pain when he looked at Shadow's grave, the black hedgehog had been a mentor and a father to him, and when he had came back here a year and a half ago to find his grave had been dug up, he'd been pissed.

"So I see you broke out of the institution." A voice ran out from behind Ace. He jumped at the sound, but quickly recognized who it was, "Jeez, don't sneak up on me like that Chuck." Ace spoke to a cream colored fox with two tails, he wore a sleeveless brown jacket and had blue jeans on, and he also wore the same shoes that Tails used to wear. He also has Tails' blue eyes, "It's your fault for not paying attention Ace, you know I also come here today." Chuck replied blandly. "Yeah, here to see your mom and pa?" Ace asked while looking down at the graves. "Yeah…I really miss them, along with the rest of their friends, I probably would've liked them." Chuck said as he stood next to Ace.

Ace sighed, "Here we are, I'm 22 and a worldwide wanted criminal, and your 20 and…well…hm…" Ace went into deep thought trying to think of what Chuck was known for. Chuck bonked him on the head, "Quiet you, I'll do something big soon." Ace held his head in mock pain, "Ah! The pain is unbearable!" After that he fell to the ground and acted like he was dying, very overdramatically. "My good friend…this is the end for me…" Ace said while clutching his head in fake pain. "Oh god, stop with the act Ace, its childish." Chuck said turning his back to his friend. Ace just laughed out loud as he stood up.

"What's so funny?" Chuck asked looking at his friend. "It's just, things are completely different now then how they were when I first met you." Ace said, putting one of his arms around Chuck's shoulder. "Yeah, it seems like it was ages ago…" Chuck started.

*Flashback, 1 ½ years ago*

Ace was at the graves at this time as well, refilling Shadow's grave with dirt, he had arrived not 10 minutes earlier to find it empty, and the body of his mentor and adoptive father was gone. Ace was flaming mad at this point, and he hoped that nobody came to the graves at this point in time, for their sake. As he finished shoveling the last pile of dirt on the grave and flattening it out, he felt a presence nearby. _"It's too much to ask for some peace and quiet, isn't it?" _Ace thought as he acted as he didn't know the person was there. He finally ran out of patience, "Enough games, I know your there, so either come out or I'll force you out." Ace said loudly, hearing one of the bushes rustle, the person probably jumped in surprise of his comment, at least that's what he thought.

Ace turned to see Chuck exit the bushes, although at this time he didn't know the fox. "Who the hell are you?" Ace asked rather bluntly, not bothering to hide that he was annoyed at the fox's presence. "I…I'm Chuck…" The cream colored fox replied, he was nervous to say the least. He had seen this panther on the news, and knew how dangerous he was. "Chuck, why are you here?" Ace asked him, he wondered if Chuck had dug up Shadow's body, but that actually seemed rather unlikely, considering he didn't look like he had the strength for such a feat. "I, came to see my mom and dad…" That's when Ace noticed something, the twin tails behind the fox's back.

"You…You're the son of Tails and Cream." Ace pointed out, slightly surprising Chuck, "I used to know your parents ya know, I didn't really know them for long, I was only eight when they died…that was over 12 years ago…" Ace said looking up at the sky. Shortly after Ace's statement, he could hear two people tromping through the woods, they seemed rather angry for some reason. Chuck also seemed to shrink in fear, "Oh no…" He said quietly. Ace was going to ask what was up, when he saw two people come out of the forest, Ace quickly drew up the hood on his cloak, it wouldn't do for him to be recognized by these two people right now.

It was a male and female hedgehog, the male had brown fur and was wearing a red shirt, brown jeans and black dress shoes. The female had white fur and was wearing a silver dress and has white high heels, they looked pissed to say the least. "CHUCK! Where have you been?!" The female asked in anger as she walked up to Chuck. "I…I came…to…" He was cut off though when the male looked at the gravestones and laughed. "Came to mourn you mommy and daddy eh kid? Well I've got a news flash for ya, there dead! And we're your parents now, so quit your whining and come back with us now!" The male attempted to grab Chuck's wrist, but he pulled back. "I have to see my mom and dad!" The female fumed in anger, "We are your mom and dad you little punk!" She raised her hand and smacked Chuck across the face. "We'll teach ya a lesson you'll never forget!" The male said as he approached Chuck, his fist raised as he prepared to strike him.

However, as he went to hit Chuck, Ace stepped next to the man and grabbed his wrist, "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Ace said in a deathly calm voice. "Who do you think you are?!" The man said as he flung his other fist around, trying to strike Ace. He never got the chance though as Ace sent him flying into a tree trunk. He looked the female in the eyes, his eyes striking fear into her, "Both of you better leave, before I change my mind and decide that you're not worth sparing." Ace said, referring to their lives. The male and the female both scurried away, like rats Ace thought as he turned back toward Chuck. He took his hood off, "You okay?" He asked as he held his hand out to Chuck. "Wh-why did you help me?" Chuck asked Ace, the news had said he was a cold blooded murderer who would kill anyone he met. "I have this nagging feeling of justice; it's almost like a six sense. Although I do kill…a lot, I seem to be able to notice when people are in trouble, even if they are all the way across the city." Ace replied as he helped Chuck to his feet.

"Now then, why don't we get your stuff from them? And don't asked where you'd go, your father has two different workshops in the Mystic Ruins, you can live in one of those." Ace said before Chuck could ask the question.

That night Ace helped Chuck get his things from his old home, find and clean out one of his father's old workshops, and move into it by the next day.

*End Flashback*

Ace sighed, "Good times, I still can never forget the look on their faces, cowards." "Well, that's pretty much all they were, very rich cowards. But enough about that, you have some explaining to do." Chuck said as he crossed his arms and looked at Ace, slightly annoyed. "Huh? What'd I do now?" Ace replied with confusion. "Who was that girl you brought to the workshop today?" Chuck asked, causing Ace to get defensive. "Whoa! It's nothing like that! She's way too young for me anyway!" Ace said waving his arms in front of himself. Chuck narrowed his eyes, "Ace, I didn't even ask about that sort of thing." "Oh…well then, when I was breaking out of the institution, I heard her scream, when I got there…she was…" Ace made a few motions with his hands, causing Chuck understand, "Oh, continue." "Well, I kinda killed the two dudes…and got her out of there because she probably would've been blamed for their deaths…" Ace said holding the back of his head nervously.

Chuck just face palmed himself, "Ace…I understand where you're coming from, but you know who won't?" Ace gulped as he knew who Chuck was talking about, his number 1 stalker, why she even tried to stick around him considering he's killed hundreds of people is beyond him. "You mean Luna?" Ace asked nervously. "Yes Ace, Luna, and ever since you got caught and thrown in that place, she's been pretty pissed about it." Chuck told Ace. Ace sighed with annoyance, Luna never cut him any slack on those sort of things, and if she saw Ginger the first thing she would guess would be…Ace had to turn away from Chuck and hold his mouth in an attempt to not throw up, he found it weird to himself that he could murder hundreds of people and not give a damn, but when it came to 'that' subject, he would nearly vomit.

"Try to not lose your lunch Ace, geez." Chuck said looking at his best friend. Ace regained his composure and took a few deep breaths, "Sorry, but when anyone brings up, well, any involving 'that' sort of activity with someone under aged, it either pisses me off, or nearly causes me to vomit." Ace explained like it was obvious. Chuck just sighed, "Well enough about all of this, you should get back to the workshop before something, I don't know, eventful happens." Chuck said as he turned to leave. "Wait, why don't you come back with me?" Ace asked his friend, to which Chuck shook his head. "I don't really wanna get caught up in this…" He said before turning to leave again. Ace however, was having none of it and stopped his friend again. "Come on Chuck, she's a nice girl, I'm sure you'll enjoy being around her." Ace said, trying to get out of going back to the workshop by himself. Chuck just turned around and looked at Ace with a 'Did you really just say that?' look.

"Ace, did you really just call someone, ANYONE, nice?" Chuck asked Ace, knowing full well it wasn't like his friend to ever talk that way. "Uh, well…maybe?" Ace replied with a shrug. Chuck just laughed before responding, "Who are you and what have you done with Ace the Panther?" He said mockingly pointing at Ace. "Hey! I'm me! I'm just trying to, you know, be just a little bit nicer." Ace said while using his thumb and index finger to show the little bit of niceness that he is trying to add to himself. Chuck just shook his head, "Alright then, fine. I'll come back with you to the workshop. But you owe me for this." Chuck said pointing at Ace, to which he replied with a mock salute. "Yes sir!" Ace said before chuckling uncontrollably. Chuck just sighed again in annoyance and made his way to Ace's workshop, which the panther promptly followed him.

8


	2. The First Act: Restoration

*Mystic Ruins: Ace's Workshop: Ace's POV*

Chuck and I had decided to take it slow going back to the workshop. I was in no hurry after all, and I don't think Chuck really was either. Although, I did hope that we would get there before…I don't know, Luna shows up or something. That would be disastrous. After a few minutes of walking the workshop came into view, which caused Chuck to promptly sigh, "So, here we are…" Chuck said as he slowly walked toward the building, he hadn't really wanted to come in the first place I guess, so I can't blame him for being a little annoyed that I was persistent that he came along. He was the first to enter the building, and when he did his eyes immediately fell on the girl sleeping on the couch. "I can safely assume that's her?" He said turning around to face me. I walked into the house, "Yeah, that's her, said her name was Ginger." I replied, walking over to one of the chairs in the room and dusting it off before sitting down on it.

"Ace, I'm glad you, you know, helped her, but did you even think of what your going to do now that she's here?" Chuck asked which caused me to ponder his question. He was right; living with me wasn't exactly the best lifestyle choice in the world. After all, I am someone who murders people for a living. "Have you even told her what you do for a living yet?" Chuck also asked before I could respond to the previous question. "Hey, not many people know I'm a mercenary, but I'm pretty sure that's not as bad as being a murderer." I responded blandly, my response actually outwitting Chuck for once, to which he just sighed. "I guess you do have a point there…But still, I repeat my previous question, what now?" Chuck asked me again, to which I continued to think. "Well…Maybe if I just did a few extra jobs…" I started, but I was cut off by Chuck again. "Ace, I was more or less referring to trying to find her a better place to live, not you working more to get some extra money." "Geez, relentless as always. Tell you what, let's just let her decide." I said waving my hand at Ginger, who was just now slowly waking up.

*Third Person POV*

When Ginger opened her eyes she was a little surprised to see another person in the room, but Chuck just decided to causally wave at her, which caused her to settle down a little bit. Ginger took a few small breathes before she spoke up, "Um…wh-who are you?" Ginger asked Chuck, who had been expecting such a question. "I'm Chuck, a friend of Ace." He said before looking at Ace, "And normally the one to help him out of his bad situations." "Hey! I totally had everything under control down in Mexico!" Ace replied putting up his hands in defense. "Right, that's why the entire country's military, was deployed trying to stop you." Chuck said crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at Ace. "They were overreacting! I was only down there to take out one guy! And he was part of the enemy militia! Why were they so worked up?!" Ace asked Chuck, despite the fact that the fox had explained this to the panther multiple times. "They were worked up because you blew up the enemy's entire base to get that one guy!" Chuck yelled pointing his finger at Ace. "He was clever! Kept avoiding me! It was the easiest way to end it!" Ace yelled back at Chuck. Ginger was the one to stop them both though, "Uh, what are you two talking about?" She asked with confusion.

Ace and Chuck both realized that they had completely been ignoring Ginger, and recomposed themselves before turning back to her. "Um, sorry, just an old memory." Ace said rubbing the back of his head. Ginger still looked confused but Chuck decided to change the subject. "So Ginger, where are you heading now?" Chuck asked with obvious concern in his voice. "Where? Well…I thought…" Ginger started, but Chuck cut her off. "Ginger, are you thinking of staying here with Ace?" Chuck asked the girl, which caught her slightly off guard, because that was exactly what she was thinking. "Well…yes…I suppose…" Ginger replied quietly, to which Chuck sighed. "You do realize what you'll be getting yourself into if you live with him, right?" Chuck asked Ginger, patiently waiting for a response. "Ye-yes…But…" Ginger looked down at the floor before continuing, "He's been…the first…to…" Ginger continued, which caused Ace to raise an eyebrow, wondering what she was talking about, "The first…to…comfort…me…" Ginger finished, which actually surprised both Ace and Chuck.

"He…was?" Chuck asked Ginger, while looking at Ace, who was just as surprised. He knew what she was talking about, but he thought that maybe somebody else would have like, hugged her or comforted her at some point in her life. "Yes…Nobody else has cared…Yet he's known me for less then a day, and he's cared more then any of them…" Ginger said, with tears starting to flow down her face. Ace felt a need to react at this point and got up from his chair, walked over to Ginger and sat next to her, "Hey, its okay…Don't cry…" Ace said, although he could be a cold blooded killer at points, he hated seeing girls cry. Ginger wrapped her arms around Ace, and just like before, buried her face in his chest, which once again, surprised the panther. He just sighed like before, then patted the back of her head. Chuck had been the most surprised of this whole turn of events, when he had came here he thought that the girl would want to instantly leave, knowing who Ace was, or would at least be somewhat afraid of him. But she actually looked toward him for comfort! Ace wasn't really known for being the kind of guy to say, 'Come tell me all your life problems, then I'll give you a hug!' He was more along the lines of, 'I don't really give a shit what happened to you in your life, get away from me before I rip your head off.'

Chuck just rubbed his eyes a few time to make sure he wasn't seeing things, when he was sure that he wasn't, he decided to speak up. "If that's what you want, just remember what you're getting yourself into." Chuck spoke as he stood up from the chair. Ace had finally managed to pry Ginger away from himself, his chest again soaked in tears. "I…do…" Ginger said fighting back tears again. "Alright then, I've got to get back home, I'll see you tomorrow, okay Ace?" Chuck said heading for the door. "Alright, bye Chuck." Ace said, waving at his friend. Chuck just continued walking and headed out the door, beginning the long walk back to where he lived. Ace sighed when he left, "Wonder what I did to get such a great friend like him?" Ace said out loud to no one in particular. Ace finally turned his attention back to Ginger, who had finished wiping up her tears. "You know, I brought back water from the river if you want to take a bath, although it's going to be cold." Ace said to Ginger, noticing that she wasn't exactly clean. Ginger took a good look at herself and decided a cold bath was better then no bath. "I guess so…I'll be out in a little while." She said heading into the bathroom. Ace sighed and looked outside, surprised to see the sun setting. "I need to fix the lights in this place…" Ace spoke to himself; his workshop had no electricity, so no warm water or lights for him or anyone else who came to the house.

*10 minutes later*

Ginger exiting the bathroom, much cleaner now and still dressed in the same clothes, only to find that Ace was nowhere to be found. No to mention the only thing lighting the place was a few candles that went up the stairs. "Ace? Where are you?" Ginger called out, hoping for a response, none came. The fox decided to follow the trail of candles, they were there for some reason. They led her to a room upstairs, with two beds that had been dusted off and made, although one was already occupied. Ginger smiled, NOW she knew where Ace was. She walked up to the empty bed and sat on it, then looked over at the other bed. Just as she thought, Ace was sound asleep, which gave him this weird look as if he was at inner peace with himself. Ginger smiled one more time before getting under the cover's in her bed. "Good night…Ace." Ginger said before rolling over and going to sleep.

*The next day*

Ginger woke up to the smell of a cooking fire. She sniffed the air a few times to make sure she wasn't going crazy or something, and sure enough, she could defiantly smell a cooking fire. She slowing made her way to her feet, and started to walk through the house, following the smell. She didn't she Ace in his bed when she woke up, so she assumed that he must be the one that made the fire. Ginger made her way downstairs and toward the door, the smell of the fire growing stronger with each step, along with something that smelled fantastic. She hadn't eaten anything but the crap served at the institution for a week…Well, that and-

Luckily that thought was cut off when she opened the door. She saw Ace sitting next to a small fire, and he was cooking two rabbits and a few fish on the fire. Ginger actually drooled a little, anything was better then what the institution had served, and this was no exception. Ace looked up after hearing the door open and gave as smirked as he saw her staring at the food. "It's not just for me you know, sit down." Ace sat patting the spot next to him. Ginger's stomach growled, signaling that it would be a good idea to sit and wait for the food to be done. She quickly sat down on the log that Ace was sitting on and patiently waited for the food to be done cooking. A few minutes later Ace pulled one of the rabbits off the fire and handed it to Ginger, "I know its not the best meal-"Ace started, but Ginger shook her head. "No, it's perfect, thank you." Ginger said taking the rabbit and beginning to eat it. Ace smiled, then turned back to the fire and took the other rabbit so he could eat it.

*20 minutes later*

The two had just finished eating the last of the fish, and Ace was picking his teeth when Ginger spoke up. "Ace, what do you really do?" Ginger asked, the question sort of vague. Luckily, Ace understood what she was asking, "Funny, not many people look past the whole, Ace is a bloodthirsty murderer who cares about nothing but death." "But I know you're not completely like that, otherwise you wouldn't have helped me." Ginger replied, looking at Ace. Ace just sighed before continuing, "Well, to be blunt, I'm a mercenary." "A…mercenary?" Ginger asked Ace. "Yes, somebody gives me a job and I go and do it. They pay me, and I leave. It's that simple." Ace said, answering Ginger's question. "Do you…find your own clients?" Ginger asks Ace, who snickers a little bit before replying. "No, that's Chuck's job, I couldn't find a client if my life depended on it." Ace said, meaning every word he said. "But, doesn't that put Chuck in danger?" Ginger asked, but Ace was already prepared for this question. "Nope, because he doesn't use his real name, he uses an alias." Ace replied, smirking. "Um, what's his alias?" Ginger asked, intrigued by this.

"The Dark Tornado."

*Chuck's Workshop*

Chuck was indeed the one who found all of Ace's clients, and it wasn't an easy process. Ace's reputation actually brought in quite a lot of clients, the problem was sorting out the good from the bad. Chuck refused to give Ace a job from a scum bag, who just wanted someone dead because they were in the way or something worse. Chuck was currently going through a list of possible jobs, "No, no, totally asshole, Ace would kill me if I chose that one…" Chuck spoke to himself, deleting e-mail after e-mail. He finally stopped clicking after opening another e-mail, "Hmm…This one seems possible. Let me see now…" Chuck opened up the file for this client. "Lila Alson, Age 31, female, needs help clearing her restaurant of some unwanted guests…" Chuck said out loud, this job had the potential to be good or bad, but Chuck was out of time, and frankly he wanted to sleep after staying up all night. "Alright then…I'll give him this one." Chuck said as he clicked the print button, causing the pages of the job to be printed out. Chuck picked up the pages and put them in a yellow file before heading out the door, to go give the file to Ace.

*Ace's Workshop*

Ace had been jumping from tree to tree, going through his morning exercises, with Ginger watching him. She was amazed at how well Ace could move, the news had said he was agile, but she never thought he was this quick. Ace jumped to the top of one of the trees so he could look around at the view, but when he got to the top of the tree he saw Chuck coming toward them on the horizon. "Well! We have a guest!" Ace said as he jumped down off the top of the tree, which earned a startled reaction from Ginger. Ace spun off one of the lower branches to slow his fall and flipped a few times in mid air before landing on his feet. "Tah dah!" Ace yelled with his arms out in a dramatic pose. "Are you crazy?! You could've hurt yourself!" Ginger yelled at Ace, who just brushed it off. "I've done it plenty of times before; I'm in no danger of injuring myself." Ace said as he watched Chuck land a few yards away. "So, you finally found a job for me?" Ace said mockingly. Chuck just ignored him and handed him the file, "I'm tired right now, so can I just sleep here instead of flying all the way back to my place?" Chuck asked, almost pleadingly. Ace could see that he was tired, and didn't see a reason not to let him stay, "Sure, I don't mind at all." Ace said gesturing toward the house. Chuck gave him a 'thank you' look before heading into the house.

"So…What do I do?" Ginger said, tapping her foot nervously. "You should stay here; it won't be safe if you come with me." Ace said as he looked over the details of the file. "Oh…alright then…" Ginger said, looking sort of disappointed. Ace just shook his head, what was he now, a father to this girl? Ace went up and patted her on the head, "I'll be back before you know it." Ace said reassuringly. Ginger seemed to brighten up a little from that, she had opened up a lot more since yesterday already. "Alright, fine!" She said taking his hand off her head, "Just stay safe." "Oh come on! Nothing can hurt me!" Ace said as he ran through the forest, heading to his destination, the city of Westopolis, and the Blue Moon Diner.

*Westopolis: Blue Moon Diner*

It had been a regular day for Lila Alson. A few customers came in; she was bullied once again by the infamous Red Fang Gang and their leader, Red Fang himself. Lila was running out of options, if she didn't do something about the gang soon, she would either have to leave her business behind, or be dead. She sighed and was about to go up to change the sign to closed when a figure in a brown cloak came in, which made her instantly suspicious of him. He sat down at one of the seats near the counter of the diner and waiting patiently for someone to come over to him. Lila sighed, he had come in before she closed, so she might as well serve him. She walked up to the cloaked figure, who hardly moved. "Hello, what would you like?" Lila said, normally she would say something more upbeat, like 'Welcome to Blue Moon Diner! May I take your order?' but she had been losing her spirit within the past few days. "Well, you don't seem very happy. Can I have a glass of cocoa? My throat is killing me." The figure said from beneath his cloak. Lila was a little annoyed that he had to comment on her current mood, but she didn't tell him that as she went and got the cocoa before returning and placing the glass in front of the man. "Thanks." He said before taking it and downing it, something that surprised Lila since that cocoa was very hot. He put the empty glass back on the counter, "Ah, that's just what I needed…" The figure said before turning toward Lila.

"So, I hear you've got a problem with a little gang eh?" The cloaked man said, which caused Lila to turn her head away, "That gesture there says it, well, I'll be happy to help you then." He said standing up, causing Lila to snap at him. "And how are you gonna do that huh?! Just walk into their hideout and attack them?! Who the hell are you anyway?!" Lila yelled, pointing her finger at him. The figure stood still for a while, before he starting bursting into laughter. "What's so funny?" Lila said, confused and angry that this man was laughing at her. "Well, your defiantly full of spirit." The figure said before removing his head, causing Lila to gasp in shock. "Yo-your-" She started, but the man cut her off. "Ace the Panther, at your service." Ace said doing a mock bow.

"You…actually came…I thought that…" Lila started, but again Ace cut her off. "Contrary to popular belief, I prefer helping those who actually NEED help, not the scum bags who just want a job done." Ace said pulling the hood back up, he couldn't have people seeing who he was. Lila understood and quickly rushed over and flipped the sign from open to closed, then gestured for Ace to come into the back room with her. Ace followed her into the kitchen as she continued talking, "Well, since you're here I might as well explain the situation, a group of thugs known as the Red Fang Gang have been terrorizing people in this city for quite some time. They've just recently began targeting my diner, since it's in the area that they want to build they're fucking 'home base'." Lila said angrily, not pleased at all by the behavior of the gang.

"I see, then the easiest way to take them out would be to wait for them to come here tomorrow, then-" Ace was about to finish when he was hit in the back of the head with a bo staff. "Ouch, that hurts." Ace said before rubbing the back of his head as if someone lightly punched him in the head. "What the? What are you made of?" A new voice said, that being the woman wielding the bo staff. "Jill! Its okay, he's here to help with that damn gang." Lila said to the woman named Jill. "Yeah, no need to try and knock me out, ugh." Ace said still rubbing his head, he'd have a headache later from that.

"So, you're here to help drive those no good gangsters out?" Jill asked slowly lowering the staff. "Yeah, just…Please don't hit me with that staff again." Ace said still rubbing his head. "Who are you anyway?" Jill asked. "He's…well, don't freak out when I tell you but-" Lila started, but Ace finished it by removing his hood again, which caused Jill to instantly raise her staff. "Your that murderer! Ace the Panther!" Jill yelled, preparing to hit Ace with her staff again before Lila intervened. "Jill stop! I'm the one who called him here!" Lila said grabbing the staff to prevent Jill from hitting Ace with it. "You actually called him here? Have you lost your mind Lila?!" Jill yelled pointing a finger at Ace, "He's a fucking murderer! He's killed hundreds of people! Do you not understand that?!" Jill yelled, keeping her finger pointed at Ace.

"I know that Jill! But who else is going to stand up to those damn gangsters, the police? Ha! Those cowards wouldn't even dare! He's the only person I can think of who will help us!" Lila yelled back at her friend. "And how do you know that he just won't kill you huh?" Jill said to Lila. "What would be his point of coming all the way out here just to kill me for no reason? Your argument is only based on the fact that he's killed other people!" Lila yelled back at Jill. Ace was getting more and more uncomfortable with each comeback, that is, until she heard the sound of a bell, an indication that someone had entered her shop. "Oh great! Who is it this time?" Lila yelled walking back out from, only to stop in her tracks when she saw who entered. "I thought we told you to be gone by today!" A man said before he slugged Lila in the face, sending her down to the floor. This instantly angered Ace, an unprovoked attack, on a woman no less! "You leave her alone!" Jill yelled as she ran out to attack the man with her staff, when another one pointed a gun at her head the moment she made it out there. "Don't move, unless you want your head blown clean off." The man said threateningly. Jill cursed and dropped her staff, the other man smiled before looking down the dark corridor and seeing Ace, but Ace had lifted his hood back up so they couldn't tell who he was.

"Hey! Hey you, the guy with the cloak! Come on out or we'll blow this woman's head off!" He yelled at Ace, who responded by saying two words. "Chaos Control." Time slowed down as the technique activated, prompting Ace to act. He ran down the hallway and pushed Jill down, so she wouldn't get shot. Then he jumped into the air and did a split kick so he could kick both the men in the face at the same time. Time sped up as the two were sent flying in different directions in the diner. Jill and Lila were both shocked to see the men down, but they were perhaps more shocked to see Ace standing where the previous gunman used to be. The guy who had yelled at Ace before got back up, and pulled out his gun in preparation to shoot Ace. The panther didn't miss a beat as he kicked the gun that the other guy had dropped up into the air, grabbed it and shot the hand of the man holding the gun before the guy could fire.

The guy dropped his gun as he held his hand in pain, giving Ace the chance to leap at him and axe kick him in the head, knocking him out cold. He then picked the guy up and threw him at his buddy as soon as he stood up, knocking the other guy back down. "If you know what's good for you, take your friend and get out of here." Ace said staring at the other guy, who jumped up and ran, dragging his accomplice along with him. "Tsk, weakling." Ace said as he turned back toward the girls, "You two okay?" He asked in a decently sympathetic voice, he must be getting better at that. "We're…we're fine…thanks." Lila said as she and Jill before slowly made their way to their feet. "Good, so…were those guys' members of this 'Red Fang Gang'?" Ace asked, wondering if his enemies were really going to be so weak. "Yes, although they looked like new recruits to me, I haven't seen either of them before." Lila responded, sure that they were rookies. "So, I probably shouldn't waste much more time, I should go deal with them." Ace said heading for the door, but this time Jill stopped him.

"Wait! At least stay here for dinner, as a way of us saying thanks." Jill offered to Ace. The panther turned and looked at them with a surprised look, even when he had the nicest of people giving him a job; he was never offered any food of any kind. People were just too frightened of his reputation to give him food, so he normally just went out and got some food for himself. "Um…sure…" Ace said turning around and slowly walking back. "Alright then, we'll go get started on it, you just find someplace comfy to sit!" Lila said to Ace, as her and Jill went to go prepare dinner. Ace felt guilty for not helping, but they did specifically say to find someplace to sit…

*Ace's POV*

I walked over to one of the booth's and sat down, maybe I could rest my head on the table for a little while…Yeah, that sounds like a good idea…

*45 minutes later*

I slowly awoke to the smell of…well I guess the best way to describe it is that it smelled amazing. I slowly lifted my head off the table I had fallen asleep on and sniffed the air a few times. Yep, that defiantly smelled good. I got up and made my way to the back of the diner, hoping that the fantastically smelling thing was food ready to be eaten. When I got to my destination, my wish was granted. There was a table set up with steak, mash potatoes, corn, and some biscuits all set up on a plate. I resisted the urge to devour it all, deciding instead to wait for the girls to show up. Luckily that didn't take long as they walked out from another room not a few seconds later. "Oh, you're awake. Well that's good, we were just about to come and get you." Lila said. "So, dig in." Jill said waving her hands at all the food on the table as they sat down to their own two plates.

I didn't need to be told twice. I began eating at a decent pace…And by decent I mean eating 5 biscuits in one minute pace. Jill and Lila looked at me as if they were wondering if I ever ate at all. Within about 5 minutes I easily cleared my plate and a few of the extra biscuits that were on the side. I took a deep breathe before I realized I probably just made myself look like a complete fucking pig. "Uh, sorry about that…I just don't eat that good of a meal that often." I said rubbing the back of my head. Although I don't care about most people opinion, I try to make at least a decent impression on my clients. "Was our food that good?" Lila asked me, to which I nodded vigorously. "Yeah, I haven't had a meal that good in…a looooooong time." I said holding my hands out to measure the amount of time it's been since I've have a good meal. "Well, thanks, it means a lot." Jill said, obviously referring to the compliment I made on the food. "Don't mention it, and try and save the thanks for when I get rid of those gangsters, they won't know what hit them." I said before taking a sip of my water.

"Hopefully…" Lila said lowering her head. I had a feeling there was more to this story that meets the eye, but I didn't want to try and force them to tell me anything, so I just kept quiet. Dinner went along rather quietly after that, with the girls finishing there food before they both headed to bed. They showed me the guest room in which I could stay in, to which at first I said I didn't want to be a hassle, but they insisted that I stay. Who could argue with that? I went into the guest room and laid down on the bed, and slowly began to fall asleep. Tomorrow was going to be on hell of a day…

*The next day*

I awoke from my sleep at the crack of dawn. Today I was going to go down to…wherever those Red Fang guys are, and kill every last one of the bastards. I stretched before I decided to walk downstairs, finding Lila at the table drinking a cup of coffee. "Morning." She said to me without even turning her head. "Yeah, morning…" I replied, not really sure of what else to say. I walked down the remaining stairs and over to the door, preparing to leave when Lila stopped me. "Are you going already?" She asked me, to which I just replied in a nod. I needed to end this as soon as possible. "Ace, you don't even know where they're hideout is, how are you going to find them?" Lila asked as she turned to face me completely.

"I'll find them, one way or another, and I'll end them." I said heading for the exit again when an uninvited guest entered the dinner. I growled as I saw the thug from yesterday enter, and he jumped so high he nearly went through the ceiling. He threw a letter at me before running back out the door, god that guy is a fucking wimp. I grabbed the letter and opened it to see what message the dumbass had brought me. "What does it say?" Lila said walking out from the back. "Ha! They're all challenging me, giving me the exact location of they're hideout, what dumbasses!" I yelled before throwing the letter up into the air and reducing it to ashes. "Guess now I know where they are." I said to Lila as I grabbed my cloak and put it on. She was silent for a while before she finally responded, "I…guess so…" "I'll be back, when they are all gone." I said, making my way out of the diner and down the road, heading for the hideout of the Red Fang Gang.

*Red Fang Gang Hideout: Third Person POV*

Ace walked up to the large warehouse, which had a bunch of signs saying 'Stay out or die' or similar things on them. Ace just chuckled; these guys were a group of morons for openly challenging him. Ace drew his fist back, and slammed it into the giant door, completely ripping it off its hinges and sending it flying back into the warehouse, earning some surprised yelps from some of the gang members inside. Ace slowly walked into the building, where nearly every member of the gang pulled out a gun and pointed it at him. "Knock knock." Ace said as he smirked, not in the least bit worried about the countless guns that are pointed at him.

"Well, well. Welcome Ace the Panther, it is an honor meeting a fellow murderer such as yourself." A large brown tiger said to Ace as he walked toward him. "I can safely assume that you're Red Fang, right?" Ace said, not intimidated by the tiger in the slightest. "Yes, I am. You do realize that by attacking my members yesterday, and by showing up here today, that you are declaring war against the Red Fang Gang." Red Fang told Ace, expecting the panther to be surprised, or afraid, or something. What he HADN'T expected was for Ace to burst into laughter "It won't be much of a war Red Fang, it'll be a massacre." Ace said with a devilish grin. Red Fang growled before backing up, "KILL HIM!" He bellowed at the top of his voice as he pointed as Ace. Ace smirked as the men all prepared to fire they're weapons, remembering an old lesson from his master...Shadow the Hedgehog.

*Flashback 12 years ago: Secret Location*

Ace was only ten at the time, and had been training with his master and adoptive father, Shadow the Hedgehog, for two years by this time. "Alright Ace, it's about time I taught you a skill that will be very important for you to use in the future." Shadow told Ace as the little panther stared back at his master, some of the innocence still in his eyes. "What's that master?" Ace asked Shadow, very careful not to say something that Shadow could use against him later. "I'm going to teach you how to run as fast as me." Shadow told Ace, whose eyes lit up as he said those words. "Re-really? B-but how?" Ace asked with wonder, he didn't think he could ever move his legs like Sonic could, and he highly doubted that Shadow had an extra set of his skates lying around somewhere.

Shadow just gave a very small smile, most wouldn't even notice it, but Ace could see it. "I'm going to teach you how to focus you Chaos Energy into your legs, which will allow you to run without the use of any hover skates." Shadow said, answering Ace's question. The two ended up spending nearly the whole day just getting Ace used to the ability.

*End Flashback*

Ace took off with inhuman speed, easily avoiding all the bullets and surprising the entire gang, including Red Fang. Ace started punching the lights out of gang members left and right, one had tried to shoot him in the back, but Ace jumped into the air to avoid it, and then gave the guy an axe kick that caved his skull in. Ace rolled as soon as he hit the ground to avoid more gunfire. "Tch, I should've brought my pistols." Ace said picking up some of the fallen gang members weapons. "These will have to do I guess." Ace said examining the weapons. He ran out from his cover and started shooting at the gang members, each shot equaling another dead or injured guy. The gang members continued firing their weapons, unable to hit Ace with a single bullet. As for Red Fang, he couldn't believe that his entire gang was getting defeated by a single guy! He didn't care if that guy was Ace the Panther, this was unacceptable!

"Kill the bastard already!" Red Fang said as he grabbed a nearby missile launcher and shot it at Ace, who mocked Red Fang by simply teleporting to avoid the missile. The blast killed most of the remaining members of the gang. Ace laughed and proceeded to put bullets in the skulls of the last alive ones. "Well, that wasn't much of a challenge." Ace said, although he'd never say out loud that he was actually kinda worn out, that technique takes a lot out of him, but it would've taken more energy to constantly teleport. "You rat! I'll have you head on a stick for this!" Red Fang yelled at Ace as the giant tiger pulled out two huge blood red pistols. Ace raised his gun and clicked the trigger, only to find he was out of ammo. "Shit." Ace said before he dropped the pistols and avoided some gunfire from Red Fang. Ace knew there was plenty of guns around, he just needed to find one to his liking.

"Die you bastard!" Red Fang bellowed at Ace as he continued to fire his guns at the panther. Ace wondered how much ammo those things could hold; it seemed like an ungodly amount. Ace finally saw a pair of guns that served to his liking, a pair of P99's that were next to one of the dead gangsters. Ace sped up and grabbed the guns as he passed by them. He raised the guns and fired rapidly at Red Fang, who took cover behind his giant armchair, which apparently had a plate of steel in the back of it because the bullets didn't go all the way through it. Ace cursed and took cover behind a nearby pillar as Red Fang resumed shooting at him. Ace could tell though, that the gun was powerful. The shots from the giant pistols were tearing through the stone pillar! Ace thought fast as he dived out from behind the pillar and shot at Red Fang, just as the pillar fell apart! Red Fang was caught off guard by this and was hit in the shoulder by one of the shots. "Shit!" Red Fang yelled as he ducked down behind his chair.

Ace took cover behind another pillar and checked the remaining ammo in his pistols, 3 shots left in the right one, 7 in the left. That gave him 10 shots, he could easily find more guns or ammo around the dead bodies in this place, but he'd wasted enough time already. "Hey Red Fang! Listen up!" Ace yelled at the giant tiger, who had heard his words. "Just a heads up! Your going to be dead within my next 10 shots!" Ace proclaimed to the tiger, who just laughed out loud at Ace's statement. "We'll see about that you fucking punk!" Red Fang yelled as he stood up from his cover and fired at the pillar Ace was behind. Ace calmly waited until the pillar was about to collapse again, then teleported out from behind it and above Red Fang. He fired 2 shots from each pistol at the tiger, who managed to avoid 3 of them, but was hit, in his uninjured shoulder by the last. He fell down and kicked Red Fang in the head, who retaliated by swiping at Ace with his huge claws.

Ace used Red Fang's head as a springboard to avoid the tiger's claws, and then Ace shot the tiger in the back with his remaining 4 shots in his left pistol, careful not to hit any vital spots. Red Fang let out a roar of pain as he dropped his pistols and turned around, punching Ace in the stomach and sending him crashing through the stone wall to the outside. Ace groaned as he pulled himself out of the debris and dropped one of his pistols, while hiding the one with a bullet remained in his jacket. Red Fang leaped out of the warehouse at Ace, intending to tear the panther's throat out with his fangs. Ace backfliped off the debris; barely avoid the brown and red tiger. Ace then jumped into the air and kicked Red Fang in the head, before hitting him with a few Chaos Spears. Red Fang stumbled back in pain; the only thing keeping him up was his raw determination to kill Ace. Ace jumped at Red Fang and tried to punch him in the face, but the tiger managed to dodge the punch and grab Ace's arm. He then twirled Ace in a circle before throwing him back into the warehouse at high speeds, sending him smashing through one of the remaining pillars in the building.

Ace was getting to his feet when his eyes widened. Red Fang had picked up his chair and tossed it at the panther, who barely managed to somersault to avoid it. Red Fang picked up a nearby AK47 and started firing at Ace like a mad man. Ace ran back and forth to avoid the bullets, and then ran straight at Red Fang, taking a chance. By time Red Fang brought to gun back toward Ace, the clip in it was empty, giving Ace the chance he needed. Ace jumped up and slammed his knee into Red Fang's face, causing the gangster to drop his AK. Ace grabbed the gun out of mid air and broke the gun on Red Fang's head, which caused the tiger to drop to one knee. Ace then landed and balanced himself on his hands before kicking the gangster in the face, actually sending the massive tiger flying back onto his back a few feet away. Red Fang groaned as he made his way to his feet, only to have a pistol pointed at his chest. "Goodbye, Red Fang." Ace said as he prepared to fire. "Wa-wait! Don-" Red Fang started, but didn't get the chance as Ace shot him in the chest, and through the tiger's heart.

The huge gangsters hit the floor, dead. Ace just frowned at the body of the tiger, before tossing his gun down to the floor and turning around to walk away. Only now did he notice just how much blood he was covered in, he was nearly head to toe in blood. Ace sighed and picked his cloak off the ground and wrapped himself in it. "Chaos Control." Ace said, leaving the warehouse now that his job was complete.

*Blue Moon Diner*

Ace appeared in front of the diner, which was still closed, and entered the establishment. Lila looked up to see the panther wrapped in the cloak, and although there were only a few drops of blood on the cloak itself, she could see his blood covered face below the hood. "Uh, can I use you shower?" Ace asked in a sort of pleading manner.

*5 minutes later*

Ace was in the shower now, washing off all the blood that had gotten on him during the battle. Lila was standing just outside the bathroom door at the time. "You know, I've got a feeling you didn't tell me the entire reason you wanted that gang gone." Ace said, which surprised Lila. "Wha-what do you mean?" She asked the panther. "What I mean, is you love this diner for more then it just being yours." Ace said as he scrubbed his fur clean. Lila was silently for a while, then she sighed and continued, "Yes, there is another reason…" Lila started, Ace listening intently. "It all began ten years ago…My father owned this diner, he ran it with pride, and everyone loved him. Everything was perfect, that is…Until the Red Fang Gang showed up." Lila explained; while Ace stayed almost completely quiet, save for the sound of running water. "When they first showed up, all they wanted was a place to hang out, but they still caused trouble. They would chase customers away, and threaten them if they tried to stay. Finally my dad had had enough of the gang, and politely asked them to leave and never return. Red Fang agreed, but he said it was only agreeing because it was my dad's last request…Then he killed him." Lila said, tears now flowing from her eyes.

Ace had just finished his shower and stopped the water, quickly drying himself and putting on the plain white t-shirt and blue jeans that Lila had put in the bathroom for him. He walked out into the hallway and grabbed Lila by the shoulders, bringing her attention to him. "I know how you feel Lila, my father was killed by a deranged robot, and on my eighteenth birthday no less." Ace explained to the leopard, who still had tears flowing from her eyes as she stared at Ace. "Your father wouldn't want you to mourn over his death, he'd want you to be strong and carry on, to bring the Blue Moon Diner to a level he never could! Do what your father couldn't do." Ace said, bringing more determination to Lila's eyes with each word. "Your right…Your right! I should stop being so down on myself…I never thought I could run the diner as good as my father could, but I'll run it better then him!" Lila yelled, her confidence increasing with each word. Ace had let go of her shoulders by this point, "Exactly, and remember. If you ever need a problem dealt with, and it doesn't have to be something physical, I can help." Ace said, turning to leave.

"Your leaving already?" Lila asked Ace, who nodded in return. "Tell Jill I said bye, okay?" Ace asked Lila. In truth the leopard didn't want Ace to leave so soon, but she guess that he probably had places to be. "Alright then, I guess I'll…see you later?" Lila said. "Yeah, see you later." Ace replied, before disappearing in a flash of light.

*Ace's Workshop*

Ace reappeared in front of his workshop, and although it was still morning, he was tired as hell. He walked into the workshop and was greeted by Chuck and Ginger. "Welcome back Ace!" Ginger said to the tired panther. "How'd the job go?" Chuck asked Ace, gave him a thumbs up, which was his signal for a successful job. "The pay will be sent to you shortly Chuck, now if you both don't mind…I wanna catch some more z's." Ace said before heading upstairs to go to sleep. "Ace!" Ginger yelled up at him, which made him stop and look down at her, "I'm you're your safe." Ginger said with a smile on her face. "Ace just smirked at the fox and continued walking up the stairs, heading for his bed.

11


	3. The Second Act: Revenge

**Just as a heads up, the *FLASH* that will appear later in this chapter means that the story is going from the present, back into the past, and back again when another *FLASH* happens. It'll be a little confusing…so just bare with me please. **

*Mystic Ruins: Ace's Workshop: Third Person POV*

Ace rolled around in his bed, grunting and snoring in his sleep as Ginger hovered over him. "Rise and shine sleepyhead!" Ginger yells as she pushes Ace off his bed, causing him to scream in surprise. "WHAT THE FUCK?!" Ace yells as he jumps up off the floor, looking around wildly until he sees Ginger laughing her ass off. "What did you do that for?! I was having a good dream…" Ace mopes as Ginger wipes a few tears from her eyes and her laughs turn into chuckles, and then disappear entirely. "Sorry, but from the way you were snoring I didn't think you'd wake up easily." Ginger says smiling at Ace, causing the panther to just roll his eyes. She was right of course, a herd of elephants could trample his entire workshop and he wouldn't notice unless one of them stepped on him.

"Well, get dressed! We're going out!" Ginger says raising an arm for good measure. Ace just stares at her, "What part of national criminal do you not understand?" Ace says looking at Ginger like she's an idiot. "Dummy! I never said we were going into town! We're going on a picnic!" Ginger responds, wagging a finger at Ace while she does. Ace just slumps, _"…That actually was pretty stupid of me to jump to conclusions…" _Ace thinks as Ginger walks out of the room. The panther sighs before he starts to gather his clothes from around the room and get dressed, preparing for this, 'day out'.

*Chuck's Workshop*

The fox had been taking a shower when he heard the phone ring, causing him to sigh in annoyance. He quickly finished and stepped out of the shower, grabbing a nearby towel and wrapping it around himself as he walked down the hallway. It was a little cold, but nothing he wasn't used to. He dried his hands and picked up the phone, "Who is it?" Chuck asked, sounding a little irritated. "Someone sounds a little grumpy." Ginger replies from the other side of the phone, causing Chuck to pay a little more attention. He hadn't heard from her or Ace is a little over a month. Ace hadn't been answering his phone calls, and while he thought about visiting them, something always came up when he tried. "So, to what do I owe the honor of receiving a call from you my lady?" Chuck says in a mock tone, causing Ginger to chuckle a little bit. "Welllll…I was wondering if you wanted to come along with Ace and me on a picnic!" Ginger says excitingly, which causes Chuck to raise an eyebrow. _"A picnic? Since when does Ace go on picnics?" _Chuck thinks are he shakes it off. "Um…sure…I'll be there in about half an hour, okay?" Chuck says, causing Ginger to squeal quietly in excitement. "Oh thank you Chuck! Alright, see you then, bye!" And with that Ginger hangs up the phone, leaving Chuck with the empty beeeeeeeeeeep sound that the phone started to make.

*Ace's Workshop: Around half an hour later*

Ginger was impatiently tapping her foot outside the door to the workshop when she saw Chuck walking up to her and Ace. She huffs and storms over to him, "Your late!" She yells at Chuck, who doesn't even flinch as he looks at the watch on his wrist. "On the contrary…I'm 2 minutes early." He responds, causing Ginger to be dumbstruck and stand there in silence. "Soooooo…Are we going now?" Ace says breaking the silence, they hadn't even started walking and he was already annoyed having to be the one to carry all of the food and the blanket. "R-right! Off we go!" Ginger says pointing in a direction and starts to walk in that direction, causing both Chuck and Ace to sigh, both regretting that they agreed to this…

*Mystic Ruins: Silver Meadow*

The group arrive around 10 minutes later, Ginger instantly running into the center of the field and falling down into the grass, taking big breaths of the air, "Its so relaxing here…" Ginger says are she rolls around in the grass. "She seems to be enjoying herself." Chuck comments as he stops to watch her. Ace just walks right past him, "She enjoys a lot of things." Ace walks into the middle of the meadow and picks up Ginger, surprising her as he tosses her onto his shoulder. "HEY! What's the big idea?!" Ginger screams as she struggles to get off his shoulder. "Sorry, but you were in the way." Ace says as he walks back over to Chuck and puts her down next to him. She crosses her arms and legs and pouts as Ace walks back into the middle of the meadow and starts to set up the picnic supplies. _"Man…sometimes I wonder why I do this stu-" _Ace started to think, before a large silver blasts comes out from the woods and slams into him! Sending him flying back through some of the trees. Both Chuck and Ginger are shocked as Ginger quickly rises to her feet, "Ace!" "Ugh…What just hit me?" Ace says as he stands up and looks at the person who blasted him.

In the middle of the meadow stands a silver fox with grey eyes. He has a obvious scar on his forehead, and a white flame tattoo that stretches down his entire right arm. He's wearing grey jeans and shoes that looks a lot like Sonic's, only they are white with silver stripes. "No…fucking…way…" Ace says quietly as he stares at the silver fox, who glares at him in anger. "Its been 3 years Ace…how have you been since you tossed me out into space?" The mysterious fox asks, spitting out the words like venom. "Swift…how are you still-" Ace starts, but is cut off, "Alive? I don't feel like telling you that." Swift says as he slowly draws two katana's that he has on his back. "What I feel like doing, is paying you back for what happened 3 years ago…Draw your weapons." Swift says in a deadly serious tone. "…Fine then." Ace replies, pulling out two pistols that he had brought along with him, Chuck and Ginger hadn't argued when he did, he WAS wanted after all. "So…you still carry them…Dawn." Swift says pointing at the white gun, "…and Dusk." He says pointing at the black one. "Of course I carry them…though I haven't fired them since THAT day…I just had a feeling I should bring them along today." Ace says, not having moved an inch since he drew the guns.

"_Who IS this guy? It seems like he knows Ace…and Ace seems to recognize him as well." _Ginger thought to herself, Chuck saying nothing at all. "Well, it seems like you've made some friends since we last met, they both know you're a mass murderer, right?" Swift asks looking at Ginger and Chuck, then back to Ace, who simply scoffs in response. "What? No comment? They don't look that surprised, so I assume they both know. Whatever, its not like I came here for idle chit chat anyway. I came to fight." Swift says readying himself. Ace just looked at him, _"It has been 3 years…hasn't it?" _Ace thought to himself, it'd been…so long ago.

*Flashback, 3 years ago: Space Colony ARK*

Ace bursts into the control room of the Eclipse Cannon, surprised when he sees Swift up near the control panel of the cannon, his case in his right hand. "Swift…what are you doing?" Ace asks as he slowly approaches the fox, he draws one of his katana's with his left hand and points it at Ace, causing the panther to stop in his tracks. "That's as far as you go Ace, now…" Swift starts as he clicks open the case, revealing 6 of the seven Chaos Emeralds in it, causing Ace to widen his eyes in surprise, "It all ends…" "What…but how didn't I-" Ace starts, but is cut off by Swift. "My case…it hides Chaos Energy. Nobody, not even Shadow himself could have sensed the emeralds inside this case." Swift explains as he turns to face Ace, who grits his teeth together when Swift mentions Shadow. "So…what do you plan to do Swift?" Ace asks, already having a pretty good idea. "Simple, I'm going to kill you…and take the emerald you have…Then I'll use the Eclipse Cannon, and obliterate this pathetic planet!" Swift yells in triumph as he waves his hand at the Eclipse Cannon.

Ace just scoffs to this as he draws his pistols, "I could care less about the planet other then the fact that it gives me a place to live…but killing me, is gonna be a harder task then you think it'll be." Ace says as he hangs the pistols at his sides, waiting for Swift to make the first move. The silver fox grins wickedly and drops the case, drawing his other katana before it hits the ground and charging Ace.

*FLASH*

Ace raises his weapons and begins firing at Swift, the fox deflecting the bullets off of his katana's and slicing at Ace, who dodges and jumps around firing at Swift as he dodges his slashes one by one. Swift then impales both of his katanas into the ground as he nears Ace again and dropkicks the panther in the stomach, sending him flying through the forest.

*FLASH*

Ace slams through several metal rooms, finally stopping at a room that looks like a giant test chamber. He picks himself up just in time to use his guns to block an attack from Swift, pushing the fox back and jumping into the air, firing two chaos charged bullets at him. Swift jumps to the side, but the two bullets explode when they hit the ground, sending the fox flying through a wall.

*FLASH*

Ace jumps down from the tree he's on, firing bullets at the downed Swift as he descends. Swift is nicked by the first two bullets, but then he rolls out of the way and continues to flip to avoid the bullets at Ace lands and redirects his fire. "Ha! Is that the best you've got Ace?!" Swift yells as charges Ace.

*FLASH*

"Not on your life!" Ace yells back as he throws his guns into the air and shoots a Chaos Cannon at Swift, catching the fox of guard with only enough time to guard at the energy collides against him. Swift goes crashing through multiple rooms, until he skids against the floor of a room filled with test tubes. "Hm…not exactly where I wanted to be…" Swift says as he slowly stands up. Ace sprints through the hole in the wall and swings a fist at Swift.

*FLASH*

Swift uses the back of his blade to block Ace's punch, pushing the back of the blade and flinging Ace backwards. The panther redraws his pistols and fire a storm of bullets at Swift, who weaves through the bullets and slashes at Ace, giving him a nice gash on his chest. "Kuh…Damn it!" Ace yells as he kicks Swift in the face and uses it as a springboard to create some distance between the two, causing the fox to yell and hold his face in pain. "Little bastard…I'll kill you!" Swift yells as he stabs one of his blades in the ground and fires a Chaos Torrent at Ace. Ace jumps into the air, causing the blast to take out a few trees behind Ace as the panther falls toward Swift, firing bullets at him as he does.

*FLASH*

Swift deflects each of the bullets and slices down Ace's left arm, the panther grunting in pain the whole time as the blade pierces his skin. Swift jumps past Ace, finishing the slice, which causes to panther to tumble into a pile. Ace quickly jumps back to his feet, holstering his guns and holding his left arm in pain. "Damn it…" Ace says as he looks around the room, running out and down the hallway, Swift on his heels. "What's wrong Ace?! Can take the heat?!" Swift yells at Ace as continues to flee, looking for a specific room. "Where is it…THERE!" Ace yells as he kicks down a specific door and runs into the room, Swift chasing him into the room. The room was the escape pod room.

*FLASH*

Ace jumps as Swift slices at him, Ace still holding his arm in pain. "Alright then…just a little closer…" Ace mutters to himself as Swift jumps into the air after him. Just as Swift is about to stab Ace, the panther redraws his pistol and fires a few bullets into Swifts left arm, the fox screaming in pain as he falls out of the sky as Ace flips around and lands on his feet. Ace then fires a few more bullets at Swift, who moves his head just in time to avoid them, the bullets slamming into a nearby tree trunk. Swift charges Ace yet again, swinging his remaining katana like a madman in rage. The panther easily dodges each of the slices, waiting for the perfect moment. The second that he leads him to the center of the grove, Ace shoots Swift in the foot, causing the fox to scream in pain.

*Flashback: 3 years ago…*

Ace jumps back and quickly presses a few buttons on a nearby control panel, causing one of the pods to close around Swift. The fox tries to cut the pod to pieces in anger, though his efforts prove to be futile. "Sayonara…Swift the Fox." Ace says waves at the fox as the pod descends a little, then shoots out of the space station and towards Mobius completely. Ace walks over to the window and watches the pod…then his face turns to that of surprise as the pod explodes as it nears the planet.

*End flashback*

Ace jumps back as he shoots Swift in the foot, stopping to stare at silver fox, who looks up and stares back at Ace. "Something on your mind?" Swift asks, slightly annoyed at Ace. "How…how did you survive?" Ace replies, causing Swift to scoff. "Like I'd tell you that." Swift says as he rises to his feet, waiting a second before charging Ace again. "All I know is that you tried to kill me!" Swift yells as he swings his sword down at Ace, who blocks it with his gun. He then trips Swift and slams him into the ground, holding down his right arm with his foot and pointing his gun at Swift's face.

"I didn't try to kill you that day, I didn't have the slightest idea that the pod would explode in space." Ace says while holding Swift down. "How the fuck can I trust you?" Swift responds, staring daggers at Ace. "I heard about those pods from Shadow, who had rode one down to Mobius many years ago. I thought they were safe, not explosive capsules of death." Ace replies calmly, causing Swift to grunt and turn his head away. "Do you believe me now?" Ace asks, causing Swift to look back up at him for a moment. "…Just let me get up." Swift says emotionlessly. "And how do I know that you won't try to cut my head off?" Ace asks sarcastically. "I won't, just let me up damn it." Swift says, growing slightly annoyed, which causes the panther to chuckle. "Fine, I'll let you up." Ace says as he holsters his pistol and steps back as Swift stands up and sheathes his other katana, brushing the dirt off of himself as well.

Ace and Swift both examined each other. "Wow, I really fucked you up, didn't I?" The two both say simultaneously, causing them both to laugh at the same time. "Heeeeeey!" The two both turn their heads in the direction of the voice to see Ginger and Chuck approaching through the forest. "Right, your 'friends'." Swift says with mock attitude. Ace elbows him lightly in the gut, still causing the fox to cringe, "At least I've got friends 'lone wolf'." Ace replies, waving at them with his uninjured arm. As the two continued approaching, Ginger notices that both of them are seriously injured, causing her to gasp, then become rather upset, "What did you do to yourself this time?!" She yells as she hastily approaches them. "Heh, sorry. Just sorta got a little…caught up in the reunion." Ace fibs, chuckling as Swift just glares at him.

"_Reunion? Bah, when I first got here I wanted your blood." _Swift thinks to himself just as he and Ace are both smacked by Ginger. "OW! What was that for?!" Both of them yell in unison. "That, is for going and beating the shit out of each other! Now both of you don't move, we don't want you bleeding any more then you already are." Ginger says as she jogs over to Chuck, who sighs and hands her the medical kit that she had packed. "Now, both of you stay still." Ginger says as she starts to clean out their wounds, Ace not even really flinching while Swift can't seem to help but flinch.

*A half an hour later*

"There! All done!" Ginger yells happily as she stands up. Ginger then skips back over to Chuck, pretty sure that the two wanted to talk to each other a little bit. The two stay silent for quite a while, Swift being the first to speak. "I've heard you made quite the reputation for yourself…Ace the Panther, the biggest mass murderer of all time. That's what they say." Swift says as he looks over at Ace, who has no emotion on his face. "Well? If you were really like what they say, I wouldn't be alive right now. So what's the real story?" Swift asks Ace, he stares coldly at the silver fox. "Its exactly like they say, I'm cold blooded to anyone that gets in my way." Ace says, causing Swift to be completely silent…until Ace bursts out into laughter. "At least, that's what they would want me to say, I made exceptions for innocents. The only people I kill are criminals, and lots of guards. Cops, Military, Mall Security, you name it." Ace says with a chuckle with the addition of the last one.

"So…that's the story?" Swift asks, just to confirm that Ace wasn't joking. "Yep, that's it, nothing more to add to it." Ace says slowly lying back on the grass. "What about those two?" Swift asks, pointing at Chuck and Ginger who are playing a game of chess using Chuck's portable holographic chess board. "…I'll save that story for another time." Ace says, staring up at the clouds. Swift just drops the subject and lays back on the grass with Ace. "…So, mind if I join the picnic?" Swift asks, the fight had made him pretty hungry actually. "I don't see why not, we have plenty of food. Though we're going to have to backtrack all the way to the meadow." Ace says, smirking at Swift who just mutters under his breath and stands back up. Ace chuckles and does the same, walking over to Chuck and Ginger and explaining the situation to them both.

*7 hours later: Ace's Workshop*

After the picnic, Swift had taken off to…god knows where. Chuck had also left, returning back to his workshop, most likely to find Ace a job. Ace sighs loudly and looks goes down to the river to fetch some water for the shower, while Ginger takes a nap on the couch. When Ace returns with the water she's still napping, breathing rather quietly. Ace smiles lightly and goes into the bathroom, using the water from the river to take a quick bath, cleaning out his wounds again and redressing them himself. _"Swift…wonder if we'll see him again?...More then likely…" _Ace thinks, then he yawns, _"I'm tired…I think I'm going to go to bed early today." _Ace thinks to himself. As he goes up the stairs he hears a soft voice, "Good night Ace…" Ginger says quietly, causing the panther to smile. He delays himself for a second, then turns to look at Ginger, "…Good night." Ace says before climbing the rest of the stairs, causing Ginger to smile as she goes back to sleep.

6


End file.
